Housing for air conditioning units



Jan. 29, 1957 c. J. HOLMAN HOUSING FOR AIR CONDITIONING uurrs 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 12, 1953 I Hi1?!" v l m 1,

INVENTOR. CLAQEA/CE J /OL/ MA/ BY M64477! Malay ATTOENEY Jan. 29, 1957c. J. HOLMAN 2,779,572

HOUSING FOR AIR commonmquuns Filed Oct. 12, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [W6245 ll LI'I H 44 I Plum,

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INVENTOR/ CLA/ZENCE J HOLMAN up/Maw United States Patent 2,779,572HOUSING FOR AIR CONDITIONING UNITS.

Clarence J. Holman, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Alco RefrigerationSales & Service, Inc., Cleveland, (Blrio This invention relates tohousings and particularly to a housing for an air conditioning unitadapted to provide for both the cooling or heating of the treated air.

Conducive to a better-understanding of this invention,

it may be well to point out that during the past several years there hasbeen a decided trend toward one story shopping centers. Such buildingshave always been difficult to heat and even more difficul to cool in thesummer. The fact that such buildings usually have no basements, or onlyvery small basements, has made it very expensive to install airconditioning package type units on the floor where they take up valuablespace that could be better used for business purposes. The installationof central type air conditioning has been diificult due to the lack ofspace for large units and also because space is rarely provided for airducts for the distribution and return of recirculated air. Furthermore,water saving devices, such as cooling towers or evaporative condensersare in many cases absolutely necessary or very desirable for a practicalair conditioning system. This is especially so in areas having a limitedor reduced water supply during hot spells, when the cooling system ismost needed. These water savers require a great deal of space and do notlend themselves readily to indoor installation since they require largequantities of air for their operation.

The primary object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a housingfor air conditioning units that is mountable on the roof of a buildingover the area to be serviced and therefore requiring no useable space.

Another object is to provide a housing of the type do: fined thatrequires no changes in building design and eliminates the necessity forfurring in ducts along the walls or ceilings.

Still another object is to provide a housing whose air passages are sodesigned that air intake and air discharge vents are on the same end ofthe housing, with air intake above the discharge vent to permitconnections with concentric ducts leading tocombination supply andreturn type ceiling diffusers.

A further object is to provide a housing for air conditioning componentshaving compartments arranged so that the motor-compressor filter,cooling coil, blower and heater are aligned in a single horizontalplane, thereby making them readily accessible for servicing. Anotherobject is to provide a housing of the type stated that is designed foroutdoor mounting, thereby reducing the fire hazard by locating allheating and cooling equipment outside of the building.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from areading of the following specification and claim, together with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of the housing that is the object of thisinvention; t

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the housing showing mechanicalair conditioning components mounted therein and the entire packagemounted on the roof of a building, also shown in section; and

ice

Figure 3 is a schematic air fiow diagram showing the course of air flowas it is directed through the housing and its contained air conditioningunits. i i T Referring more particularly to the Figure 1 of thedrawings, there is seen the housing that is the object of-theinventionbroadly indicated by the reference numeral 10. The housing comprises asubstantially rectangular case made of sheet metal of suitable gage andmounted on an angle iron frame. Any type of suitable construction may beused to provide the required rigidity. The hollow case, so constructed,has a top wall 11, a bottom wall 17, a front wall 15,, a rear wall 12and side walls 13 and 14 respectively. The bottom 17 of the case isprovided with suitable mounting brackets on its upper face to receiveand hold the various mechanical air conditioning components hereinafterdescribed. The case is divided into five compartments or chambers bysuitably positioned partitions 3!}, (it), 23 and 19. H 1 Referencenumeral 30 indicates a first partition spaced from the rear wall 12 andabutting the top, bottom and side walls 11, 17, 13 and 14, respectively,to form a eom pressor compartment in which a motor-compressor unit 36 ofsuitable capacity is mounted. The partition 30 is covered with a heatinsulator such as rock or glass wool to keep the heat generated by thecompressor out of the balance of the housing. i 9' A second partition 19is positioned with the case abutting the top, bottom and side walls 11,17, 13 and 14 respectively, and spaced from the front wall 15 to-definea manifold compartment.

A third L-shaped partition, broadly indicated by reference numeral6il,is positioned between the side walls 13 and 14 and includes ahorizontal portion 28, abutting the manifold partition 19, and avertical portion 26, de; pendent from the free end thereof, and abuttingthe bottom wall 17. The horizontal. portion 23 being intermedi,

. ate and parallel to the top and bottom walls 11 and 17 respectively.The vertical portion 26 being spaced from and parallel to the firstpartition 30 and defining with said horizontal portion 28, manifoldpartition 19, bottom 17 and side walls 13 and 14, a lower rectangularchamber. The said partition titl defining with the top wall 17 andpartitions 30 and 19 an upper L-shaped chamber 29.

The vertical wall 26 of the partition has an opening therethrough intowhich a tubular expansion or cooling unit 42 of conventional style isfitted. The manifold par; tition 19 has a collared upper or inletopening 21 therethrough positioned between the horizontal portion 28'ofthe partition 60 and the top wall 11 and communicating with the L-shapedupper chamber.

Reference numeral 20 indicates a second collared opening in partition 19that is positioned between the horizontal portion 28 of the partition 60and the bottom wall 17 and communicates with the aforesaid lowerchamber.

A fourth substantially vertically extending partition 23 divides thelower chamber :into two compartments, one of which is intended to housethe blower 47 and the other of which houses the space heater 48, as seenin Figure 2. The partition 23 has a collared opening" 24 therethroughsubstantially aligned with the opening '20 of partition 19. Referencenumeral 13 indicates an air-outlet vent cut in the bottom wall 17 of themanifold compartment. An air inlet duct 22 of smaller diameter than theair vent 18 is positioned co-axially with the vent 18 and mounted withinthe manifold compartment with its exhaust end in airtight engagementwith the collared opening 21. Reference numerals 31 and 32 indicateangle iron brackets mounted on the outside of the top wall 11' and sospaced as to provide a foundation for positioning and holding the aircooled. condenser 38 which is mounted on top of the housing.

Conventional airconditioning units are housed in the refrigerant isdelivered from the storage reservoir 40 to the cooling coil 42 throughtube 41. The rate of delivery is controlled by expansion valve 45. Therefrigerant, in vapor form, is returned to the compressor 36 throughtube 43. An air filter of conventional type is held in front of theevaporating coil 42 by means of brackets 27 and may be removed from timeto time for cleaning or replacement.

A blower 47 driven by a motor 46 is mounted in the lower chamber blowercompartment with its vent extended through the opening 24 of thepartition 23.

Reference numeral 48 indicates a gas fired duct furnace having its airintake side connected to the blower vent and its hot air delivery sideconnected to the opening 20 of the manifold compartment.

The flue gas from the furnace 48 is vented through a flue 49 and stack62. An offset 25 in the partition 23 provides a passage for the fiue 49.The furnace compartment is sealed off from the balance of the case sothat air for combustion can be delivered to the furnace 48 withoutupsetting the air circulation in the conditioning system.

In operation, untreated air enters the housing through duct 22, passesthrough the upper or L-shaped chamber 29, through the filter 44 andcooling coil 42 from whence it is exhausted by the blower 47 and forcedthrough the furnace 48 and manifold chamber from which it is expelledthrough the vent 18.

It is of course to be understood that the cooling and heating units arenot ordinarily operated at the same time. When the air is being cooled,the furnace 48 is not in operation; the air merely being permitted topass through the cold furnace. On the other hand, when the air is beingheated the cooling coil 42 is not in'operation; the air to be heatedmerely being passed through the inactive cooling coil 42. During eithercooling or heating cycles the same blower, 47, is used to move the air.

It will now be understood that this housing and its contained unitsprovides a compact and complete air cooling and heating system thateliminates costly engineering installations and servicing charges.Furthermore, such a unit can be set down anywhere and be in instantoperation after merely connecting to gas and electric lines. No costlywater or sewage connections are necessary.

In the installation illustrated in Figure 2, the device is seenpositioned on the roof 35 of a one story building. A single hole isbored through the roof to receive the conventional ceiling diffuserhaving an exhaust bell t) and a delivery bell 51. Housing is placed overthe roof opening with its manifold vent 18 connected through collar 53to bell 51. The bell 50 is connected to mani fold duct 22 through collar54. The device is ready to operate as soon as electric and gas lines areconnected to the proper units. Since the device is located on the roof,any condensation water from the cooling coil 42 can be vented directlyonto the roof; no direct sewage connections being required. Furthermore,no fire hazard is present since the entire device is outside of thebuilding. A heat insulating covering 16 completely covers the case 10and permits etficient operation of the unit under all weatherconditions.

Air from the building to be cooled is drawn through the bell'50, duct22, upper chamber 29. through filter 44, cooling coil 42, blower 47;inoperative furnace 48 and manifold vent 18, through hell 51 and back tothe building. Cooled air is diffused outward beneath the ceiling in acircular or other pattern, determined by the shape of and baffiesprovided in the bell 51. The cool air then falls to the floor. Thewarmer air is exhausted through the center bell 50 and re-circulatedthroughthe conditioner. A schematic layout of the path taken by the airduring each conditioning cycle is illustrated in Figure 3. A valvedintake vent 62 may be provided in the side wall 14 of the case to admitoutside air to the chamber 29 so that a certain percentage of fresh airmay be constantly added to the system if desired.

The same path is followed by the air during the heating season with theexception that under such circumstances the cooling system isinoperative and the air is I heated as it passes through the furnace 48.

The efiiciency of the system is increased by the fact that re-circulatedair passing through the metal duct 22 in the manifold compartment ispre-coo-led or heated, as the case may be, by the conditioned airpresent in the manifold. It should also be understood that differentmethods could be used to arrive at the jacketed or co-axial arrangementof the air inlet and outlet openings, without departing from the spiritof the invention.

The arrangement of the conditioning units is a single horizontal planewithin the housing, making it easy to service or replace any unit, sinceno lifting or stacking of the units is required.

If the area to be conditioned is greater than the capacity of a singleunit, the required number of units may be positioned in spaced relationon the roof to provide a pattern of coverage that will insure completeconditioning of the entire area within the building. Since the only partof the system within the building is the ceiling air diffusers, theusual business conducted within the building is not interruptedduringthe installation of such a device. It is only necessary to bore a singlehole through the ceiling to connect the diffusers to the housing 10.

It will now be clear that there is provided a device which accomplishesthe objectives heretofore set forth. While the invention has beendisclosed in its preferred form; it is to be understood that thespecific embodiment thereof as described and claimed herein is not to beconsidered in a limited sense as there may be other forms ormodifications of the invention which should also be construed to comewithin the scope of the appended claim.

' I claim:

In apparatus for heating and cooling air, a housing,- comprising ahollow case member including top, bottom, front, rear and side walls; afirst partition positioned Within the case abutting the top, bottom andside walls thereof and spaced from said rear wall to define a compressorcompartment; a second partition, positioned within the case abutting thetop, bottom and side walls thereof, spaced from said front wall, todefine a manifold compartment; a third, L-shaped, partition positionedwithin the case between the side walls thereof and including ahorizontal portion abutting the second partition and a vertical portion,dependent therefrom, abutting the bottom wall; said horizontal portionbeing intermediate and parallel to the top and bottom walls, and spacedfrom said first partition, said vertical portion being spaced from andparallel to the first partition and defining with said horizontalportion, second partition, bottom and side walls, a lower chamber; saidvertical portion having an opening therethrough; a filter unit mountedin said opening; said'second partition having a first opening positionedbetween the top wall and the third partition and a second openingcommunicating with said lower chamber, positioned between the bottomwall and the third partition; a fourth partition positioned within saidlower chamber, abutting the horizontal portion of the third partitionand the bottom and side Walls of the case, said partition having anopening therethrough aligned with the second opening of the secondpartition and defining with said elements a first and secondcompartment; a coo?- ing unit positioned in the first compartment, aheating unit positioned in the second compartment, a blower mounted inthe fourth partition opening; said cooling and heating units beingjoined through said blower mounted in the fourth partition opening; saidbottom Wall having an air outlet opening therethrough within theconfines of said manifold compartment, an air inlet duct mounted withinthe manifold compartment having one end connected to the first openingof the second partition and the other end centered Within the air outletof the manifold, the diameter of the inlet duct being less than thediameter of said outlet opening; said third partition defining withinthe case walls an L-shaped upper chamber References Cited in the file ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,895,444 Cassel Jan. 31, 19332,093,936 Spielman Sept. 21, 1937 2,112,221 Sargent et al Mar. 22, 19382,247,987 Carson July 1, 1941 2,292,562 Huggins Aug. 11, 1942 2,314,101Phipps Mar. 16, 1943 2,343,121 Eberhart Feb. 29, 1944 2,370,886 SolbergMar. 6, 1945 2,664,041 Twede Dec. 29, 1953 2,739,794 Graham Mar. 27,1956

